Tech honors distinguished alumni

SDSM& T News
501 E. St. Joseph Street • Rapid City, SD 57701- 3995
Phone: ( 605) 394- 6082/ 2554 • Fax: ( 605) 394- 6177
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 12, 2001
Contact: Steve Buchholz, Public Information Manager, 394- 6082
Tech Honors Distinguished Alumni
The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology will honor five alumni during Tech’s 144th Commencement scheduled for 10 a. m. Saturday, Dec. 15, in the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Theater. Tech gives the “ Distinguished Alumni” awards to graduates who have made outstanding contributions in their professions and to Tech.
This year’s Distinguished Alumni:
Jay A. Brink ( Electrical Engineering, ‘ 56)
After graduating from high school in Corsica, Brink started his career with the Brink family company. After graduating from Tech, he served two years in the U. S. Army and then rejoined Brink Electric as a partner. When the company was sold, he went to work for Southern California Edison in Los Angeles. He returned to Brink Electric in Rapid City when the company was reacquired.
Brink retired as chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Brink Electric Construction Company, a multi- million dollar company that constructs and maintains electrical transmission substations and distribution systems in the western United States. He also was corporate officer for several Brink Electric subsidiaries. Jay has consulted for numerous large corporate power companies and contractors, and he is a long- standing member of the Power and Communications Contactors Association.
Brink has served on the Rapid City Airport Board, as a Director of First Federal Savings and Loan and as a Community Advisor of the former National Bank of South Dakota in Rapid City. He currently serves on the Children’s Home Society Board, is an elder in the First Presbyterian Church and was one of the founding members, Vice President and a Board member of Westhills Village retirement center in Rapid City.
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Dr. Dianne Dorland ( Chemical Engineering, ‘ 69)
Born and raised in Belle Fourche, Dorland received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from Tech. She worked for both Union Carbide and DuPont before returning to West Virginia University for her PhD in 1985. After a year at the Department of Energy in Morgantown, W. V., Dorland joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota- Duluth, where she excelled from assistant professor to full professor to head of the Department of Chemical Engineering. While at Duluth, she also served as an Environmental Engineering Specialist to the UMD Sea Grant Extension Program and a Special Project Associate to the Vice Chancellor of Academic Administration at UMD. She is currently the Dean of the College of Engineering and a Professor of Chemical Engineering at Rowan University, Glassboro, N. J.
Dorland has worked on pollution prevention and hazardous waste management with companies in a wide range of industries.
Daniel P. Landguth ( Electrical Engineering, ‘ 68)
Originally from Lead, Landguth began his first career position as a commercial representative for Pacific Gas and Electric Company in Santa Rosa, Calif. In 1970, he returned to Rapid City as a sales engineer with Black Hills Power and Light, a subsidiary of Black Hills Corporation. He progressed in his career with Black Hills Corporation from sales engineer to manager of Rates and Power Use to Power Plant manager to vice president of administration, then to president/ chief operating officer. In 1991, he was elected chairman and chief executive officer of Black Hills Corporation in addition to continuing as president
Dan has given thousands of personal hours in community service by serving in leadership positions in civic activities such as chairman of South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry, chairman of the Rapid City Area Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Spearfish Canyon Foundation, trustee of Rapid City Regional Hospital, commissioner of the Black Hills Boy Scout Council, trustee of the Crazy Horse Foundation, president of the North Central Electric Association, president of the Rocky Mountain Electric League, director of United Way of Rapid City, president of Canyon Lake Little League, and many other civic organizations.
Dr. Bill B. May ( Electrical Engineering, ‘ 57)
Originally from Sturgis, May received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Tech. He began his career as a research assistant with Systems Techniques Laboratory, Stanford Electronics Laboratory. Bill received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1964.
May and seven other staff members from Stanford University founded ARGOSystems in 1969. Using their own capital in the beginning and supplementing this equity by
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offering stock to employees, ARGOSystems grew by the late 1980s to more than $ 100 million in sales and more than 1,350 employees. In the middle 1970s, ARGOSystems entered the international marketplace, eventually achieving one- third of its sales overseas. Through the years, May led the administrative, financial and management evolution of ARGOSystems from a start- up company to a mature enterprise. In 1987, he negotiated the sale of ARGOSystems to The Boeing Company.
Memberships include the President's Roundtable, consultant to the Packard Commission of the U. S. Government, Sigma Xi and National Association of Corporate Directors. He has been honored as a member of the National Academy of Engineering, has received the Bronze Award for Chief Executive Aerospace- Defense Electronics, Tech’s Guy E. March Medal and was a Centennial Alumnus for Tech during the school's centennial.
Albert D. Schmidt ( Electrical Engineering, ‘ 49)
Albert was born and raised in Alpena. He received his Electrical Engineering degree from Tech in 1949. During World War II, he served as an officer with the U. S. Navy.
After graduation, he went to work for Northwestern Public Service Company in Huron. He worked his way from cadet engineer to safety director and gas engineer to assistant superintendent of production and then superintendent of gas properties. In 1958, Schmidt became vice president of operations for Northwestern Public Service and was promoted to president and chief executive officer of the company in 1965. In 1980, he became chairman and chief executive officer, a position he held until 1994.
Schmidt has held the position of director for the Northwestern Public Service Company, US Business & Industrial Council, South Dakota Council on Economic Education, National Food and Energy Council, National Association of OTC Companies, South Dakota Chamber of Commerce, Midwest Gas Association National Association of Electric Companies and the American Gas Association. Schmidt also was on the executive committee and the past president of the North Central Electric Association, was on the executive committee and past chairman of Mid- Continent Area Power Pool, and was a former trustee for Huron University.
Schmidt’s community involvement includes serving as past exalted ruler of the Huron Elks Lodge, past patron of the Eastern Star and past counselor of United Commercial Travelers, and also with the Masonic Lodge, Yankton Consistory, American Legion, Airline Passengers Association and the Downtown Rotary of Sioux Falls. Schmidt is an active member of the Hope Lutheran Church where he is involved with the choir and offers his woodworking talents for numerous projects at the church.
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SDSM& T News
501 E. St. Joseph Street • Rapid City, SD 57701- 3995
Phone: ( 605) 394- 6082/ 2554 • Fax: ( 605) 394- 6177
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 12, 2001
Contact: Steve Buchholz, Public Information Manager, 394- 6082
Tech Honors Distinguished Alumni
The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology will honor five alumni during Tech’s 144th Commencement scheduled for 10 a. m. Saturday, Dec. 15, in the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Theater. Tech gives the “ Distinguished Alumni” awards to graduates who have made outstanding contributions in their professions and to Tech.
This year’s Distinguished Alumni:
Jay A. Brink ( Electrical Engineering, ‘ 56)
After graduating from high school in Corsica, Brink started his career with the Brink family company. After graduating from Tech, he served two years in the U. S. Army and then rejoined Brink Electric as a partner. When the company was sold, he went to work for Southern California Edison in Los Angeles. He returned to Brink Electric in Rapid City when the company was reacquired.
Brink retired as chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Brink Electric Construction Company, a multi- million dollar company that constructs and maintains electrical transmission substations and distribution systems in the western United States. He also was corporate officer for several Brink Electric subsidiaries. Jay has consulted for numerous large corporate power companies and contractors, and he is a long- standing member of the Power and Communications Contactors Association.
Brink has served on the Rapid City Airport Board, as a Director of First Federal Savings and Loan and as a Community Advisor of the former National Bank of South Dakota in Rapid City. He currently serves on the Children’s Home Society Board, is an elder in the First Presbyterian Church and was one of the founding members, Vice President and a Board member of Westhills Village retirement center in Rapid City.
- more-
- page 2-
Dr. Dianne Dorland ( Chemical Engineering, ‘ 69)
Born and raised in Belle Fourche, Dorland received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from Tech. She worked for both Union Carbide and DuPont before returning to West Virginia University for her PhD in 1985. After a year at the Department of Energy in Morgantown, W. V., Dorland joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota- Duluth, where she excelled from assistant professor to full professor to head of the Department of Chemical Engineering. While at Duluth, she also served as an Environmental Engineering Specialist to the UMD Sea Grant Extension Program and a Special Project Associate to the Vice Chancellor of Academic Administration at UMD. She is currently the Dean of the College of Engineering and a Professor of Chemical Engineering at Rowan University, Glassboro, N. J.
Dorland has worked on pollution prevention and hazardous waste management with companies in a wide range of industries.
Daniel P. Landguth ( Electrical Engineering, ‘ 68)
Originally from Lead, Landguth began his first career position as a commercial representative for Pacific Gas and Electric Company in Santa Rosa, Calif. In 1970, he returned to Rapid City as a sales engineer with Black Hills Power and Light, a subsidiary of Black Hills Corporation. He progressed in his career with Black Hills Corporation from sales engineer to manager of Rates and Power Use to Power Plant manager to vice president of administration, then to president/ chief operating officer. In 1991, he was elected chairman and chief executive officer of Black Hills Corporation in addition to continuing as president
Dan has given thousands of personal hours in community service by serving in leadership positions in civic activities such as chairman of South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry, chairman of the Rapid City Area Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Spearfish Canyon Foundation, trustee of Rapid City Regional Hospital, commissioner of the Black Hills Boy Scout Council, trustee of the Crazy Horse Foundation, president of the North Central Electric Association, president of the Rocky Mountain Electric League, director of United Way of Rapid City, president of Canyon Lake Little League, and many other civic organizations.
Dr. Bill B. May ( Electrical Engineering, ‘ 57)
Originally from Sturgis, May received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Tech. He began his career as a research assistant with Systems Techniques Laboratory, Stanford Electronics Laboratory. Bill received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1964.
May and seven other staff members from Stanford University founded ARGOSystems in 1969. Using their own capital in the beginning and supplementing this equity by
- more- - page 3-
offering stock to employees, ARGOSystems grew by the late 1980s to more than $ 100 million in sales and more than 1,350 employees. In the middle 1970s, ARGOSystems entered the international marketplace, eventually achieving one- third of its sales overseas. Through the years, May led the administrative, financial and management evolution of ARGOSystems from a start- up company to a mature enterprise. In 1987, he negotiated the sale of ARGOSystems to The Boeing Company.
Memberships include the President's Roundtable, consultant to the Packard Commission of the U. S. Government, Sigma Xi and National Association of Corporate Directors. He has been honored as a member of the National Academy of Engineering, has received the Bronze Award for Chief Executive Aerospace- Defense Electronics, Tech’s Guy E. March Medal and was a Centennial Alumnus for Tech during the school's centennial.
Albert D. Schmidt ( Electrical Engineering, ‘ 49)
Albert was born and raised in Alpena. He received his Electrical Engineering degree from Tech in 1949. During World War II, he served as an officer with the U. S. Navy.
After graduation, he went to work for Northwestern Public Service Company in Huron. He worked his way from cadet engineer to safety director and gas engineer to assistant superintendent of production and then superintendent of gas properties. In 1958, Schmidt became vice president of operations for Northwestern Public Service and was promoted to president and chief executive officer of the company in 1965. In 1980, he became chairman and chief executive officer, a position he held until 1994.
Schmidt has held the position of director for the Northwestern Public Service Company, US Business & Industrial Council, South Dakota Council on Economic Education, National Food and Energy Council, National Association of OTC Companies, South Dakota Chamber of Commerce, Midwest Gas Association National Association of Electric Companies and the American Gas Association. Schmidt also was on the executive committee and the past president of the North Central Electric Association, was on the executive committee and past chairman of Mid- Continent Area Power Pool, and was a former trustee for Huron University.
Schmidt’s community involvement includes serving as past exalted ruler of the Huron Elks Lodge, past patron of the Eastern Star and past counselor of United Commercial Travelers, and also with the Masonic Lodge, Yankton Consistory, American Legion, Airline Passengers Association and the Downtown Rotary of Sioux Falls. Schmidt is an active member of the Hope Lutheran Church where he is involved with the choir and offers his woodworking talents for numerous projects at the church.
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